1. Field of the Description
The present description relates, in general, to interactive entertainment, and, more particularly, to systems, devices, and methods for providing location-based entertainment that allows a participant or user to participate with or interact with displayed information (text, images, stimuli, and so on) by physically presenting a universal puzzle piece at an interactive display for real time modification or updating of images and/or text displayed on the universal puzzle piece.
2. Relevant Background
There are many applications where it is desirable to encourage people to move from one geographic location to another within a facility. For example, an entertainment facility such as an attraction at a theme park may find it desirable to move numerous visitors through an attraction over time, and this may be achieved by providing interactive entertainment or games that dynamically move the players or participants through a facility during game play (e.g., each player is collecting clues to try to solve a riddle, enhancing their game state by moving from interactive station to interactive station, and so on). In a shopping store or mall environment, it may be desirable to encourage shoppers to visit differing locations within a store to sample, view, or otherwise experience certain products or displays. Each of these facilities may be thought of as location-based attractions in which it may be useful to shunt or purposefully drive traffic through or about geographic or physical locations of the attraction.
One useful technique for driving traffic within a facility is to provide location-based interactivity that provides a fun way for a player or visitor to gather information in one location that is then useful in another location. For example, this may involve a player of an interactive game being provided a printed game piece such as a map, a game clue, hints for game play, and so on, and the player uses this printed information to play the game such as a treasure hunt or a mystery-solving game. In another example, a player may be encouraged to travel to a particular location that may be associated with an interactive game station, their presence at the first location being detected by a game system, and game information being communicated to and from the player. Unfortunately, triggering installed interactivity in a location-based application such as a theme park can be an expensive proposition.
In some paperless or electronic applications, interactive game or entertainment systems have provided each player with a wireless communication device such as a cellular telephone or the like that was equipped with global positioning satellite (GPS) components. This allowed the system to track the location of the player and also allowed the system to communicate data to the player and the player to communicate data to the game system. GPS-based interactive systems though often were not as effective or useful for indoor settings and often could only provide relatively inaccurate locations (such as within a 30 meter radius). Also, providing each player with a OPS-enabled, two-way communication device causes the system to be very expensive to operate (e.g., each user device may cost well over $100 U.S. dollars), and this requires the system operator to require return of the devices as the player leaves the facility and causes expenses associated with device loss, damage, and maintenance.
In other interactive systems, communication between a player, an off-board game system, and in-facility special effects is achieved by providing each player with a data-enabled, cellphone handset along with an active radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. The cellphone is typically configured to run custom software to process received game data, provide an interactive display on the handset display screen, and process user input via a touch screen or keypad. The battery-powered RFID tag was used to transmit a signal that is accepted by a receiver proximate to a game station, and the signal includes identification data (e.g., a device ID) that is linked by the game system to the particular player. While this allows the location of the player to be accurately determined, use of an active RFID tag adds to the cost of the already expensive cellphone adapted to run game software programs. As with the GPS-based device, the facility operator is forced to collect the handsets/game communication devices as each player leaves the facility and spend money on replacing lost, stolen, damaged, and inoperative devices.
Hence, there remains a demand for additional devices and methods for providing and enhancing an interactive experience at a facility such as a theme or amusement park. Preferably, such devices and methods would include less expensive communication devices that allow users (or players) to interact with interactive stations provided in an entertainment or other interactive facility, e.g., to allow players to participate in an interactive game presented by a game system at one or more geographic locations of a facility such as a theme park or the like.
In some embodiments, it may be desirable for the communication or game-interaction devices to take a form other than a typical communication device so as to enhance the magical or unexpected aspect of the game or interaction (e.g., the prevalence of wireless communication devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants, wireless computers, and so on makes it more difficult to surprise or build the curiosity of a game player such that a communication or game device that takes a new form may be desirable).